WeatherFanatics: Multi-Vehicle Pileup Closes I-39 in Wisconsin

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Multi-Vehicle Pileup Closes I-39 in Wisconsin

By Mark Leberfinger, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

January 14,2014; 10:22PM,EST

At least 20 vehicles have been involved in a multi-vehicle pileup that has closed part of Interstate 39 in Wisconsin.
Travel was hazardous in the region as a snow storm continued late Tuesday afternoon.
The crash was reported about 2 p.m. CST and closed all northbound lanes of I-39/U.S. 51 northbound at County Road C near Knowlton, Wis., in Marathon County, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation said on its website.
There was a quarter-of-a-mile visibility and snow at the time of the crashes, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Frank Strait said.
"The snow is starting to wind down there but it will snow there for the next two to three hours," Strait said.
A spokesman at the Marathon County Sheriff's Department said no one was immediately available about the incident because the department was very busy handling calls.
The transportation department issued a travel alert in northwest Wisconsin due to hazardous road conditions.
U.S. 51 and Wisconsin 39 were also closed because of crashes, the Wisconsin DOT said.
Up to 11 inches of snow had been reported by Tuesday evening in the region, the National Weather Service said. A 9-inch snowfall in Eau Claire, Wis., set a new record for Jan. 14, breaking the 7-inch snow recorded there in 1930.
Gusty winds will continue through Tuesday night, potentially causing more hazardous conditions with blowing and drifting snow, Strait said.
The winds, gusting up to 30 mph, are expected to diminish after midnight Wednesday.

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